


Vanquishing emotions (Stupid TV show)

by okeydokey (LilMissNerdfighter)



Category: Merlin (TV), Sherlock (TV), Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms
Genre: Hamish gets Merlin feels, M/M, Sherlock helps Hamish
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-21
Updated: 2012-12-21
Packaged: 2017-11-21 23:21:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,171
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/603173
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LilMissNerdfighter/pseuds/okeydokey
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hamish finishes watching an episode Merlin and is overcome with feelings about the plot and the characters. Fortunately for Hamish, Sherlock is there to help.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Vanquishing emotions (Stupid TV show)

**Author's Note:**

> Contains spoilers (only brief mentions/hints) for Merlin S05E11.

Hamish sat on the floor, clutching his knees and rocking backwards and forwards. He had been watching Merlin for as long as he could remember and had been insistent that, although it was getting scarier and he was getting more fearful for the characters, that he was older and that he could deal with it.  After all, he often saw eyeballs and severed fingers lying around the flat and if he could deal with that, he could deal with a stupid TV show, right? The only thing was that he wasn’t sure if he could anymore.

It was Saturday night and Merlin had come on as usual, and it should’ve been fine. The characters were more tense and people were fighting and turning evil and spilling each other’s secrets all over the floor, but it had been okay. Friendship would always triumph, that was how Merlin worked. It was the one show that reminded him that friendship and love conquered everything. Then, Mordred betrayed everyone, and Hamish was left in shock. Sure, he had read the Arthurian legend and knew that Mordred was supposed to be evil (and that it had been nice of the BBC to even let Mordred be good for so long). He had told himself that he would be ready for it. He had known that Mordred couldn’t be a loyal knight forever; it just wasn’t going to happen. When the time came though, he hadn’t been ready at all.

Hamish had been so sure that for once Merlin would be allowed to have something go his way, his plan to help Mordred would work and friendship would win. It hadn’t though, had it? It was just a TV show, Dad had told him, slipping a cup of hot chocolate into his hands, and the cameraman would ultimately stop anything going wrong. Hamish desperately wanted to believe him, but he couldn’t. How was it that everything was going so horribly wrong in Camelot- how could everything be falling to pieces?

So, he sat on the carpet, hiding underneath an orange blanket. Good for shock, Dad had assured him. He could hear the distant sounds of his father mercilessly beating his dad in a game of cards and he knew that life was continuing as normal. Nothing had actually changed; it was just a stupid TV show. Pointless.

Time slipped past and still Hamish remained on the floor, curled up in the blanket. Eventually, his dad carried him up the stairs to his room and laid him on his bed. He kissed his head and bid him goodnight. Hamish ran through the night’s plotline in his head, trying to find some sort of clue that would mean that Mordred was really on the Good Side. He could find nothing.

It was nearly eleven when Hamish’s father appeared. Hamish was lying, staring at the ceiling. There was something wrong with him; he shouldn’t have these feelings about a TV show. Feelings were irritating. He should get rid of them. Father had managed before he had met Dad- how had he managed to shut them off? These emotions were inhibiting basic human functions and were dangerous. They were a bit not good, as his dad would say.

‘Father, how do you get rid of feelings?’ asked Hamish, rolling over to face his father. Sherlock froze, his eyes looking at Hamish questioningly in the dark.

Why did he want to vanquish his emotions? It was true that they were sometimes annoying, however they were sometimes necessary. If meeting John was anything to go by, emotions were important. John had taught him that, and Sherlock decided that he would not be very happy if he found out that Sherlock had told their son that feelings were pointless.

‘You cannot-‘ He started, finding his son’s gaze in the dark.

‘You did.’ Hamish interrupted, sounding bored.

‘No, I didn’t. I couldn’t. No matter how hard I tried, they were always there. I was always angry or bored, and that in itself is an emotion. You can’t get rid of your emotions.’

‘But they’re stupid and worthless. They serve no real purpose. There should be a way to delete them.’

‘Emotions move people. They can unite or destroy them, and often, they are the difference between life and death-’

‘Father-‘

‘Listen- is this about that show you were watching, Merthur?’

‘Merlin,’ Hamish corrected. ‘And, yeah, it is.’

‘In the case of television programmes, they serve to unite people. There are so many people who are given hope by them (although, I don’t know why) and…’ Sherlock paused, realising that he had no idea where he was going with his spiel. He ran through everything he knew about communities surrounding television and then he remembered. _Of course_. Sherlock span on his heels, and hurried back to the kitchen as quickly as he could. Hamish sighed and returned back to his original position. Father did tend to forget to finish a conversation when there were distractions available- he had probably run through the rest of it in his head and left, thinking it was complete, before leaving to play the violin or something equally important.

Hamish was certainly not expecting his father to return minutes later, with John’s laptop clutched to his chest. Sherlock placed the laptop in front of Hamish and knelt by the side of his son’s bed.

‘Hamish, there are these things called ‘fanatic domains’ online, and I believe their purpose is to understand why they have these emotions about certain TV programmes. I stumbled across one or two when researching a case, and maybe they can help you… feel better too.’ Sherlock opened a tab to a strange website filled with pictures and a blue background, and pushed the laptop towards his son. He turned to leave Hamish in peace, and had almost become lost in his thoughts about his latest case when he remembered that the Internet wasn’t exactly designed for eleven year old boys.

‘Be careful, okay Hamish? If you find anything that concerns you, tell me. However, under no circumstances tell your dad about it, or he’ll have my head on a stick before you can say ‘Camelot.’

‘Yeah, okay Father.’ Hamish nodded, already becoming absorbed in the pages of people who had the same feelings he did. Their language was odd and they used codenames for people, but he almost felt at home. The odd words were just a puzzle to solve and he knew that he’d be able to crack it in no time. These people seemed to relish the feelings (‘feels’) that Merlin had given them and were using them to create stories and slowly moving pictures. As he continued there were more things he couldn’t understand, but he knew that he’d adapt soon enough. This little blue website contained people like him and Hamish thought that maybe, just maybe, friendship could fix everything.

That night Hamish Watson-Holmes joined the Merlin fandom, and from that moment, he never wanted to get rid of his emotions ever again.


End file.
